


Duty of care

by wanderingalonelypath



Series: Tumblr ficlets [6]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Jace needs to take better care of himself, M/M, Pre-Slash, Simon's there to do it for him until he can, Taking care of wounds trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23604163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingalonelypath/pseuds/wanderingalonelypath
Summary: Jace was fine. Compared to his partner, he was fine, his little scratch didn't matter.Simon disagrees.
Relationships: Simon Lewis/Jace Wayland
Series: Tumblr ficlets [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699021
Kudos: 53





	Duty of care

“Why the hell are you bleeding?!”

Jace cursed Simon’s, well, everything. He would’ve been able to get back to his room unnoticed if Simon hadn’t been here with his stupid vampire sense of smell. Jace was planning on going back to his room, activating his iratze, maybe putting on some bandages, and taking a nap.

But of course Simon had to be here for a council meeting, just to ruin his plans.

Simon was by his side in an instant, fingers reaching for the gash hidden under Jace’s shirt. He just barely managed to yank back before Simon could touch him, groaning quietly when it pulled at the wound. “It’s fine.” He gritted his teeth. His eyes flickered to Izzy and Clary talking by the missions table; he really didn’t want them fussing over him.

Not today.

The demon raid was a bust. Jace guessed they got bad information from somewhere; instead of facing down two ravenor demons, they walked into a nest. His partner, a shadowhunter named Ria, was in critical condition in the infirmary. She had a few broken bones, but a claw had broken off in her shoulder, and she lost a lot of blood before reinforcements had shown up.

Jace’s little cut wasn’t nearly as important.

“Dammit, Jace!” Simon hissed, grabbing Jace’s arm to steady him as a wave of dizziness sent him reeling. “S’not a big deal. Just need some bandages.” Jace muttered, and if his words were a little slurred, well, he wasn’t about to give Simon the satisfaction.

Simon muttered something, but Jace couldn’t focus enough to figure out what it was. Suddenly, his arm was slung around Simon’s neck, Simon’s other arm wrapped around his waist as he nearly dragged Jace down a nearby hallway. Jace wanted to ask how Simon knew where his room was, but his tongue was feeling unusually heavy.

Gently, Simon lowered him down onto his bed, patting him down briefly before pulling out his stele. He curled it into Jace’s hand. “Here. Do your magic healing thingy.” He said, ducking into Jace’s bathroom. Jace made himself focus, dragging his arm up to run his stele across the healing rune. 

Immediately, the pain in his side dimmed and his mind became a bit clearer. He was still sluggish, but that was from the blood loss. Simon wandered back in just as Jace tucked his stele away, holding a roll of bandages and a rag. “Don’t need it.” Jace grunted as Simon sat next to him on the bed.

Simon ignored him, easing him up so he was leaning against the headboard. He carefully peeled Jace’s shirt off and started wiping the gash gently. Most of the blood flow had stopped from the iratze, and Jace could see the skin slowly starting to knit itself back together. It would take a few days, but he would be fine.

Which confused him. Why was Simon still here, if he could see Jace was healing?

Simon hadn’t looked up from his task this entire time, eyes fixed resolutely to wiping the blood off of Jace’s abdomen. “Why’re you doing this?” Jace asked finally, trying to ignore how gentle Simon was being. He finally looked up, meeting Jace’s gaze with something almost shy in his eyes.

“You’re hurt.” He said simply. Jace sucked in a breath, and Simon jumped. “Sorry, sorry! Did I hurt you?” He asked, yanking the rag back like it personally wronged him. Jace hadn’t moved his eyes from Simon, heart beating faster.

The room was silent, and Jace was almost positive that Simon could hear how loud his heart was beating. A hundred questions were on the tip of his tongue, but he could only force one out. “Why?” It was redundant but meaningful. One word carried all the questions he had for Simon, all the weight of his heart.

Simon swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing with shallow breathing. “Because I…”

It sounded like the words got caught in his throat. Jace was gripped with a need to know what they were, what they meant, but he didn’t push. Simon would say it if he wanted to.

“I care about you.” 

It was a whisper, almost too quiet for Jace to hear. The word’s left Simon’s mouth in a rush, like he had been holding them back for months. And maybe he had, with the way he was resolutely looking anywhere but at Jace right now. Jace could feel the thudding of his heart in his throat; there was meaning here. Right now, with Jace slowly bleeding and Simon clutching a bloody rag, something was changing. Something was starting, and Jace was terrified, but he forced the words out anyway.

“I care about you too.” 

His voice cracked a bit in the middle, but Simon heard him loud and clear. Jace felt like Simon was falling into his eyes, and maybe he was falling a bit too. But if he could sit here and capture this moment, Simon gazing at him like Jace just gave him one of the best gifts in the world…

Jace would bleed even more.


End file.
